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Manatees

Page history last edited by Doyal, Kathryn 15 years, 1 month ago

 

 

Katie D

2/19/09

      Manatees

 

    The gentle manatee is known for its slow moving motions and amiable ways. This sweet and loveable creature moves in the warm waters around the Southern Hemisphere. Manatees are known for their sweet behaviors, large diets, and warm habitats.

 

History of the Manatee

        Thousands of years ago a wading herbivore ventured into the warm waters and began life underwater. This mammal is guessed to be the ancestor of the elephant and the manatee.  Currently, the dugong is the manatee’s closest relative. The Stellar’s Sea Cow was a relative of the manatee, until they became extinct in 1768. The manatee is apart of the trichechidae family.      Depending on health conditions, a manatee normally lives to be 60 years old before dying. Most manatee deaths have to do with health conditions or human – related deaths. Some early mortality are caused by boat collisions, being crushed and/or drowning from flood control structures and canal locks, accidentally digesting fishing gear, pollution in habitat, becoming tangled in crab or fishing trap lines. Manatees can also die of dried rivers, being hunted by humans or their predators, or of pneumonia.

    There are currently 3,276 manatees in the US, almost all of them are in Florida. There are 3 different kinds of manatees. There is the West African Manatee, the Amazonian Manatee, and the West Indian Manatee, which is often referred to as the Florida manatee here in the US.

                   

Appearance

    Manatees are large, dark gray, and highly gentle aquatic mammals. They have very long, round, heavy bodies with a paddle- shaped tail and two flippers that act as arms in the front of its body. The manatee has 3 to 4 fingernails on its flippers. The manatee has a sweet, wrinkled head and face with whiskers on its snout. The manatee can even see in color.

    The average manatee is 900 -1200 pounds and is 9 or 10 feet long. Often the females are larger and weigh more. Manatee calves often weigh 75 pounds and are 3 feet long. Manatees come up for air every 5 minutes.

    Manatees are very slow and very gentle mammals. They like people as long as they are gentle and kind to the animal.  Their days are spent eating some, sleeping some, and traveling some. Up to half of there days are often spent sleeping. They communicate by whistling to one another and show their feelings through gestures and noises. The manatee never swims alone and enjoys company from other manatees.

               

                    Habitat

    Manatees are known for their large diets and warm habitats.  The West Indian manatee inhabits in Florida and India, while the West African manatee inhabits in western Africa. The Amazonian manatee spends its time in areas between Belize and Brazil. Manatees choose areas like estuaries,  slow rivers, saltwater bays, canals, and costal areas. They like living in shallow waterways that are warm and do not have lots of saltwater in them. Rare manatees spotting have happened as north as Cape Cod and Virginia and as west as Texas. Commonly you can see manatees  in the summer in Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. Manatees like to swim in areas where there are lots of algae, so that they can eat.

    The manatee has a very  large diet. In fact, the manatee eats up to 10 – 15% of its body weight per day. The manatee is a herbivore. They eat over 60 different kinds of aquatic plants. This includes: turtle grass, manatee grass, shoal grass, mangrove leaves, various types of algae, water hyacinth, acorns, and hydrilla. After a good meal, manatees like to clean their teeth on sand, boat ropes, or one of their flippers.

    A manatee is an animal, so it can reproduce, and it is a mammal too, so it gives live birth. A female manatee has reached full maturity at around 5 years of age, and a male at 9 years. Manatees have a very slow reproductive rate, so a calf is born every 2 to 5 years. Twin calves are very, very  rare. Mothers nurse their calves for 1 to 2 years, but a calf is not ready to leave its mother until around 3 years of age.

    The manatee has very few predators. Among them, humans are the most dangerous. The West African manatee has more predators that the other two types because of its area of habitat, Africa. Some of the manatee’s predators are: sharks, humans,  crocodiles, orcas, and alligators.

               

Manatee Conservation

    The manatee is on the endangered species list. They are on the endangered list due to loss of habitat, boat propeller scars, health issues, and being hunted or poached. In the early native life, manatees were hunted for their bones (used in “special potions”) and their meat. Today, manatees are endangered not because of food, but because of our wants. The manatees’ biggest threat to extinction is loss of habitat.

    Over the years states and countries have enforced laws that protect manatees. A familiar law is the Florida Boat Speed Law, which is the law where there are certain speeds boats can go in certain areas to protect manatees. The American and Brazilian governments have made it illegal to hunt or kill manatees. In the US, two laws, The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973, protect manatees. These laws say that it is against the law to harass, disturb, annoy, or molest any manatee. If someone commits any of these things, punishment can include 60 days of jail time or up to a $500 fee.  Governments have also set up numerous manatee sanctuaries around manatee-inhabited waters.

     In 1989, 13 manatees – inhabited counties across Florida, began local programs to help keep the manatee in Florida’s costal waters. Communities in these 13 counties put up boat speed signs throughout their waters and a preservation plan. Lots of organizations were formed to help protect the manatee, and more manatee sanctuaries were created. Many people have raised money for  manatee research and manatee education has been taught in schools and to the general public.

 

    The manatee is one of the greatest animals on this planet, and it could very well vanish forever. So, research more about the manatee  and teach it to your friends and family.  Or raise money for manatee. But let’s keep this  sweet, large animal in our world’s waters for years to come.

 

 

 

               

            

     

 

 

  Bibliography

 

 

1.    www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manatees Visited: Feb 12 &18, 2009

2.    www.floridamarine.org/support/view-faqs.asp?id=17                        Visited: Feb 18,2009

3.    Manatee Observation and Education Center; Fort Pierce, Florida

4.    Mysterious Manatee Video, The                                                Watched: Feb 5, 2009            

5.    www.savethemanatee.org/manfacts.htm Visited: Feb 18, 2009

6.    www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/manatee/diet.htm Visited: Feb 18, 2009

7.    www.thewildones.org/Animals/ManateeCons.html Visited: Feb 18, 2009                                                                      

8.    www.wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_species_of_manatees_are_left_in_the_world Visited: Feb 18, 2009

9.     http://rickoshea.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/manatee.jpg       Visited: Feb 25, 2009

Comments (1)

Price, Brittany said

at 8:57 am on Mar 6, 2009

good job katie. thank you for updating on time. just helping mr.kabodian.

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